Month: February 2025

By JEFF LAMPEFor The Weekly Post FARMINGTON – Months of discussion came to fruition Monday with the passage of several new ordinances by the Farmington City Council. The council voted unanimously, and quickly, in favor of four ordinances and tabled another. Votes had more to do with discussions having already take place than with the chilly conditions of the council chambers, where mini-split heat pumps were not working. Approved were measures to vacate South Sunny Street, to acquire a vacant lot in the Wasson Ridge Subdivision, to enter a TIF agreement with Scott Anderson and to establish new regulations for solar installations…

By NICK VLAHOSFor The Weekly Post PRINCEVILLE – The on-again, off-again second tenure of Princeville High School softball Coach Chad Gardner is on again. Following a two-hour multi-topic closed session Feb. 11, the Princeville School Board approved Gardner’s hiring for the upcoming season. It was the second time in about seven months district officials appointed Gardner, who also was the Princeville coach from 2013 until 2019. Hired in July for a second stint, Gardner hadn’t coached a game before he resigned in January. In a telephone interview Feb. 12 with The Weekly Post, Gardner said lack of player participation in voluntary…

NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Police reports• ELMWOOD – A dog was killed but no people were injured in a fire at an Elmwood residence, according to authorities. The blaze began about 1:45 p.m. Feb. 6 at 403 W. South St., according to Elmwood Fire Chief Bob Tannock. When firefighters arrived, significant smoke and fire were emanating from the rear of the residence. The fire spread to the attic. The resident wasn’t home, but five dogs were rescued. Damage was estimated at $35,000, according to Tannock. Firefighters from the Akron-Princeville, Brimfield,…

Rambling through central Illinois, relieved there was no KC threepeat. • • • If you sense pride oozing from the pages of this edition, that’s due in part to all the local college students making the Dean’s list at their respective schools. As you may know, we publish names of Dean’s-list honorees who are graduates of the high schools we cover. Actually, we publish the names of some local Dean’s listers. Since so many proud parents and grandparents have asked about the list in recent weeks, here’s how that imperfect process works. Many schools subscribe to Merit Pages, a service…

By NICK VLAHOSFor The Weekly Post ELMWOOD – As Elmwood Police Chief Aaron Bean was driving Daniel Coons to jail, he knew this criminal suspect had a substance-abuse problem. More accurately, Bean’s nose knew. “He stunk so bad you could tell he was doing some nasty stuff,” Bean said. “He was in real bad shape.” Bean recounted the journeys and the arrest of Coons, a 50-year-old homeless Peoria man, for the Elmwood City Council when it met Feb. 4.Accused initially of stealing a bicycle from a rack at Elmwood Elementary School, Coons also possessed a methamphetamine pipe and a jar that…

By MOLLY RICHESONFor The Weekly Post FARMINGTON – Another parent has stepped forward urging the Farmington School Board to review and/or audit its policies regarding safety and discipline. Adam Henkhaus of Farmington spoke at the school board’s Monday meeting about an incident involving his son Drew, who was shot in the face with an airsoft gun in the school parking lot on Dec. 16 prior to a band concert. According to the Farmington Student Handbook, “Law enforcement officials will be notified in any situation that involves drugs, drug paraphernalia, weapons, firearms, arson, bomb threat or any situation deemed necessary by administration.”…

School board to ponder possible cuts By NICK VLAHOSFor The Weekly Post WILLIAMSFIELD – Layoffs might soon be coming to the Williamsfield School District. As many as two certified staff members, two food-service employees and all teachers’ aides would be let go under a proposal Interim Superintendent Rolf Sivertsen presented Monday night to the Williamsfield School Board. The cuts would save the cash-strapped district between about $575,000 and $680,000, depending on how many aides might be recalled. Job reductions are part of Sivertsen’s three-pronged plan to return the district to financial health. The district is to receive money this week from the…

NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Police reports • PEORIA – A Farmington man who was in court recently regarding a 2023 drunken-driving charge was intoxicated during that appearance, authorities stated. Remington R. Isbell, 21, was accused of contempt of court in connection with the incident, which happened about 1:45 p.m. Jan. 30 at the Peoria County Courthouse. A Peoria County Sheriff’s Office deputy was told someone in Judge Suzanne Patton’s courtroom might be drunk, according to a report. A test revealed Isbell’s blood-alcohol level was .205. The legal limit is .08….

Rambling through central Illinois, pondering how it’s possible for the temperature to drop 40 degrees in one day. • • • The generosity of local folks continues to impress. Every weekend brings a new fundraiser and every weekend there’s more money being donated to good causes. In Brimfield last weekend, the final Whitney’s Walk for Life Chili Cook-Off raised $20,400 for mental health and suicide prevention programs. That’s an amazing amount of money for a one-day event and brings the total for 16 chili cook-offs to $183,000, according to organizer Janet Fishel. In Farmington, a recent fundraiser held by Officer…

By NICK VLAHOSFor The Weekly Post GALESBURG – The oft-delayed jury trial of a woman accused of murdering the former Maquon police chief has been delayed again. Issues regarding admissible evidence and other pretrial matters have resulted in Marcy Oglesby probably standing trial the week of April 21 instead of this month, according to Knox County State’s Attorney Ashley Worby. Jury selection is scheduled to begin April 23. “We are all mindful that unexpected events can throw a wrench in things,” Worby told The Weekly Post. “However, we all feel confident at this time that the matter will proceed to trial…